TEHRAN (FNA)- Amnesty International warned against what appears to be imminent executions of a dozen Shia men on death row in Saudi Arabia, blasting the Riyadh regime for resorting to death sentences as a “tool” to suppress the kingdom’s Shia minorities.

The UK-based rights body said in a report on Wednesday that there are signs the jailed Shia men – who had been sentenced to death in 2016 – could be facing imminent execution as they were transferred to Saudi Arabia’s so-called Presidency of State Security, presstv reported.

That institution was created last year with the aim of diminishing the powers of the Interior Ministry and putting the king in direct control of “state security” matters.

“The families of the men are terrified by this development and the lack of information provided to them on the status of the cases of their loved ones,” Heba Morayef, Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa director, stated.

“Given the secrecy surrounding Saudi Arabia’s judicial proceedings, we fear that this development signals the imminent execution of the twelve men,” Morayed added.

She further said the men had been found guilty of what is claimed to be spying for Iran in “a grossly unfair trial.”

“Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s most prolific executioners and regularly uses the death penalty as a political tool to crush dissent from the country’s Shia minority, demonstrating its total contempt for the value of human life,” Morayed added.

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Joel Cholo Brooks is a Liberian journalist who previously worked for several international news outlets including the BBC African Service. He is the CEO of the Global News Network which publishes two local weeklies, The Star and The GNN-Liberia Newspapers. He is a member of the Press Union Of Liberia (PUL) since 1986, and several other international organizations of journalists, and is currently contributing to the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation as Liberia Correspondent.